Outreach

Where the fish are spawning is of tremendous importance for the population (
see our post) but also for the industry relying on it, especially since harvesting is often concentrated on fish that aggregate for to spawn. Climate change and harvesting are known to strongly affect the fish population with effect on the spawning location. In a recent paper (Langangen et al.
Global Change Biology) we explore the question: “who is the culprit of spawning location change: Climate or fishing?”

The extensive spawning migration of Northeast Arctic cod was suggested to be counterbalanced by increased early-offspring survival, however we find in a study published in July in
Marine Ecology Progress Series, that early offspring growth should be considered as another factor explaining this long-distance migration.